St. Augustine, FL

Original city gate

Old wood school house-1750

We had a wonderful day walking around historic St. Augustine, FL yesterday.  We were hoping it would be special, and it was.  The town was established in 1565 so is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States.  There are a lot of buildings still standing circa 1760's that are well maintained.  There is a cemetery that began use in 1783. The Catholic parish was founded in 1565 and has the country's oldest parish records.  The building that is now called St. Francis Barracks and home to the Florida National Guard, was initially built in 1600 and has been used for numerous purposes ever since.  It has burnt several times but the walls made of "coquina" which is a rare form of limestone (seemed like compressed seashells) quarried nearby, survived the fires.  Construction of the fort (Castillo de San Marcos) began in 1672 and was continuously occupied by various nations, and thus maintained and enhanced, until turned over to the National Park Service.  The fort is also made of coquina which has microscopic air bubbles so it would just absorb cannon balls rather than cracking or being demolished (like shooting a BB into Styrofoam).  Lots of fascinating things learned.

St. George Street

Castillo de San Marcos

Today we drove to a state park near Savannah Georgia so that we can check out historic Savannah.  This state park (Skidaway Island) is great so we should have a nice week here.